Thursday, July 16th

So, Gosia went to the nephrologist yesterday, and Calvin's kidneys have gotten worse. His creatinine level went up from 1.1 - 1.2 in the past three months.

He's "safe" until it gets to 3 or 4, and then the doctor says the level just shoots up.

At 7, dialysis becomes urgently necessary.

So, there are all these factors to take into account, blah, blah, blah, but it seems like that will be in four years from now.

Plus he's started growing!! He's outgrowing his clothes! This is really great, considering his battle with nutrition, but his growth ironically places a greater strain on his kidneys.. I suggested a diet of coffee and cigarettes once, but it didn't fly with the nutritionist. They're always opposed to homeopathic remedies...

So, four years is a long way away, etc, etc, etc, but it doesn't seem that way. I've been feeling for a while that this whole thing is entering a new phase. I can't explain why I feel that way, maybe it's just emotional, maybe it's because he has grown a good bit recently and really isn't a baby anymore -- he's going through what must be near his last round of teething right now, too.

But I'm very optimistic about this new place, which is where this week's pictures are from. They say he's already made some improvement towards sitting, so we'll see where this goes too. Getting him sitting-creeping-crawling is very important for his respiratory system. He still doesn't breathe correctly -- he breaths from the chest, not the stomach. Lack of respritory strength leaves him succeptable to a variety of illnesses that he wouldn't have the breathing strength to recover from, so that's another reason it's so important to get him on this path.

I think that's all for this mid-week post. Movie down below, first in a series!
See you Sunday.